GLENN HAUSER'S SHORTWAVE/DX REPORT 99-63, Nov 29, 1999
{Items from this and all our reports may be reproduced and re-
reproduced only providing full credit be maintained at all stages}
** CHINA. Since Sun Oct 31, CRI has appeared to have dropped 6950 for
English at 2000 and 2100, as that part of the SW band does not
resound to the sounds of CRI. English is on 9535, co-channel with
Thailand during the 2000 and 7150 has been heard during the 2100 in
parallel, both with clear modulation suggesting that the new
transmitters at Urumqi are are being used on a regular basis.
According to The Messenger, CRI's publication, 6950 is still used,
but as China wishes to respect those international broadcasting laws
it chooses whilst jamming other stations deemed critical to Beijing,
it has not stated that frequency usage between 6900 and 6995 has
stopped. The old 6933 channel which carried central and east Eu
languages believed from Xi'an was dropped earlier this year and
frequencies in the regular 41m band are now used to make it easier
for listeners in those countries to hear what China is saying. French
is still carried out of band on 7800 between 1830 and 2230, whilst
7660 is still used for Mandarin at 2000.
The older transmitters are either being redeployed for jamming
against increased Radio Free Asia transmissions and other foreign
broadcasters or have been taken out of service for scrap or to be
used for spare parts on remaining units. Either way, broadcasting
from China on SW has changed very much with frequencies inside the
international bands and use of new 13650 during A99 for English to
Africa (Adrian Childs, Dorset, Nov 25)
** CHINA. JAMMING: Beijing usually directs its jamming towards these
foreign broadcasters: BBC, VOA, RFA and Taiwan in Mandarin,
Cantonese, Tibetan and Uighur, but it seems that how Korean from
Radio Free Asia is being targeted on 9445 at 1530-1630 with the usual
FM domestic service programming overriding RFA. One can conclude that
sections of the Chinese Communist Party/government have decided to
offer P’yongyang assistance as power shortages or the reliability of
NK equipment has made necessary the use of the more powerful Chinese
jammers that can be well heard here in Europe 1500-1700 during local
winter afternoons.
Also on Wed Nov 24, Brother Stair has come up on 5850 which has
drowned out the weak signal on 5855 (via Ulan Baator) that has made
it here and the Voice of Greece is using 7475 co-channel with Korean
underneath. During the summer Korean was carried on 15660 1530-1630
with NK `buzz saw' type jamming like that used by Bulgaria and other
Soviet bloc countries during the Cold War. NK still uses wobble
jamming against VOA in Korean and a more modern electronic wobble
signal over KBS in Korean 0900-1100 on 13670, which now propagates
here.
One could call this jamming assistance `Fraternal Socialist Help' as
despite Beijing establishing diplomatic ties with Seoul, there are
sections of the party who remain ever friendly and brotherly towards
their comrades in P’yongyang. Also without forgetting, there is a
Korean community in northeastern China so the government is ever
sensitive about the effects of poverty on the NK population and what
Koreans in China may do if given a chance (Adrian Childs, Dorchester,
Nov 25)
** COSTA RICA. Further checks of how well RFPI's new 25930-USB holds
up: UT Mon Nov 29 we held it until Spiritual Awakening was starting
at 0101; not sure if turned off or finally faded out after an hour of
weakening. The next morning started monitoring at 1200 but no trace
of it until 1300, and intelligible by 1330. Still going past 2400
when Joe Bernard announced that the WTO coverage would have to run a
day late as the internet feed expected was not yet available. From
mainstream news, the WTO meeting appears to be quite a flash point
(Glenn Hauser, OK)
** CZECH REPUBLIC. R. Prague Nov 22 interviewed a Cuban activist for
human rights on the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution for Prague.
There's solidarity. Perhaps why Cuba jams WRMI's relay? (Bob Thomas,
CT, Nov 23)
** FINLAND. YLE Radio Finland programs at 0300-0330 on 9655 and
11665, here converted to UT days: Sat, Roundup of the Week's News.
Sun meet studio guests in the Capital Cafe. Mon variety of features,
Nuntii Latini. Tue Business and Economics. Wed Nature and the
Environment. Thu Culture. Fri Finnish History. Sat also includes
Starting Finnish, repeated following Fri. You are on your own to get
the text, Suomea Suomeksi, ISBN 951-717-737-2 for Vol. I and 951-717-
764-X for Vol. II (YLE R. Finland Audience Service, Windsor CT, via
Ken Halbert)
** GREECE [non]. Never a dull moment with VOA's relays of VOG. Nov 29
at 1206 I was surprised to hear Greek music on 12060, so then checked
6030 - yes, there was VOG instead of 9690 and 19380, by mistake or
perhaps testing. Signal level on this was slightly greater than Marti
powerhouses on 5980 and 6060. 6030 went off at 1230 sharp, so I
retuned to 9690. By 1235 a weak VOG was audible there, making me
wonder if they are switching sites and antennas on this one, supposed
to be Delano 75 degrees. By 1330 this had built up to its usual
crushing level (Glenn Hauser, OK)
** ISRAEL. Glenn, Re the station's correct name, their website at
http://www.israelradio.org says Israel Radio International in large
type above their logo :-) But aren't most of the English items relays
the domestic service? Those transmissions usually identify as ``this
is Israel, broadcasting from Jerusalem'' or with the Hebrew ``Kol
Israel.'' 73, (Andy Sennitt, Netherlands, Nov 29) Sorry, my mistake
about English at 0500 on 21715; it was 17715 (Chris Hambly)
** KOREA NORTH. Am I the only one tracking R. Pyongyang's new
schedule? OK. UT Nov 29 tune in at 0107 to 17735.4 with English news.
The ommmm level was not so bad as before compared to the modulation
level, but still tough copy especially on the woman's voice who was
on more than the man. 0116 into some pleasant EZ-listening music,
0122 vocal music. (At this time NHK Warudo was quite good on 21670,
better than //17835.) A talk at 0125 produced only two intelligible
words at 0128, Magna Carta. There are long pauses between items and
music. 0130 the easier to understand male announcer took over talking
about Chapter 41, and at 0139 mentioned section 6 of something he was
reading by guess who? Our Great Leader Kim Il Sung (OGLKIS for
short). 0139 ID and back to woman; 0144 ID and a bit of poetry,
talking about nuclear weapons and the S. Korean public. 0148 martial
music, 0151 another piece of martial music. 0153 gave schedule, which
I taped and copied as carefully as possible, but still not everything
is certain. If this is complete, it means that RP has dropped several
of its English broadcasts, including the 1100-1300 and 2300-0100
period to North America:
SEAs, C&SAm 9850 11335 1366?0, ME/Af 9640, 9975 all at 1200-1400
ME/Af 65-- 9600 9975 at 1500-1700
SEAs/C&SAm 15230 17735 11735 at 0100-0200
[I am certain of these frequencies at least]
and 15--- or 13---, 11835 at 0200-0400
No other transmissions were mentioned. 0154 to open carrier, the ommm
unhindered by other modulation. I then checked 15230 to find it
carrying RHC only - the commies like to stick together, :). At 0200
RP opened Spanish on 17735.4, but it was fading down. Rechecked
before 2400 and the ommmy carrier was already on (Glenn Hauser, OK)
** RUSSIA. VOR during B99 is using these frequencies for its special
broadcast to the Balkans: 6205 and 7320, but the old summer
frequencies of 11980, 12000 and 7350 are still being announced. So
why has the tape not been changed? 20-minute language segments are:
2000 English, 2020 Russian, 2040 German, 2100 French, 2120 Italian
(see below) and 2140 Albanian. Each is spoken by the main members of
KFOR and the majority Kosovar community. However at 2120 Serbian is
now heard instead of Italian, so Moscow must be redirecting its
efforts towards Yugoslavia and the remaining Serb community in
Kosovo/Metohija – to use the official title given by Belgrade. The
content of each segments remains anti-NATO and anti-KLA with
references to `Albanian gangs' and the environmental damage in the
Balkan region. Each frequency was monitored during the local evening
of Wed Nov 24. (Adrian Childs, Coscombe, Dorchester, Dorset,
England, Nov 25)
THIS DAY'S NON-KAZAKH LESSON. Glenn, I think the following, which I
just found on the new Website of Kazak Radio, will appeal to your
sense of humour. Unfortunately I don't think it was supposed to be
funny :-) http://www.radio.kz/radio_engl.html
The Kazak radio is the largest broadcasting station of the Republic
of Kazakstan capturing the great audience both in the country and
abroad. Our radio is the sole one, which can be heard in the any nook
of Kazakstan. We are broadcasting in FM 101 and 106.5 MHz, AM 1197
kHz, USW 66.78 kHz, at the range of Middle waves 250.83 m, Short
waves 25.10 m. Besides you can listen to us in double line network
and three-program line broadcasting. The Kazak radio's air sounds in
9 languages: Kazak, Russian, English, German, Korean, Uygur,
Azerbaidzhan, Tatar and Turkish.
For the first time the Kazak radio put into air on May 4, 1930 and
since that time it is in the heat of all the events. Not one
generation of Kazakstan citizents knows and believes us. The Kazak
radio takes the leading place among the electronic mass media. It has
the broad correspondence network and it helps to inform the listeners
immediately about the most important event both in the country and
abroad. We can offer the wide spectrum of programs: informational,
analytical, educational, musical and entertaining.
"Altyn kor" (Golden Fund) is the pride of the Kazak radio. It is the
fount of cultural and spiritual life of our people. The unique tapes
of musical compositions, programs with the outstanding people of
cultural and social life of Kazakstan, the voices of the singers from
different generations, including the folklore of Kazak people, radio
shows are gathered in this fund. Our radio possesses it own concert
studio with the most modern technologies and audio and musical
arrangement equipment.
Sovereign and independent Kazakstan is creating the open-minded
democratic society for the welfare of an individual and the progress.
If you want to get known everything about Kazakstan, its people, the
cultural heritage, listen to the Kazak radio. Its air is as many-
sided and unique as the boiling up life in the multicultural country.
(via Andy Sennitt)
Well, lest we forget, who among us would attempt to write anything at
all in Kazak - and whatever happened to the -h? I guess the Russians
took it with them (Glenn)
PROPAGATION OUTLOOK FROM OTTAWA, issued Nov 24: in the auroral zone,
geomagnetic activity most quiet Nov 29, Dec 11-13 and 18; most active
Dec 4 and 6, with a lesser peak Dec 15 (gh's interpretation of
histogram by P-mail; see http://www.geolab.nrcan.gc.ca/geomag) ###